The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1887-01-13
THE BASILISK-
A STORY OF TO-DAY.
CHAPTER XVII.

CHAPTER XVII.
Her first thought on recovering from
the surprise and terror Of the last few
was for my safety.
You must not let him see you. They
viii kill you il they know Of this she
said.
II will kill him II he dares to modest
you.' / said.
mo; he will do me no harm; will
not see him again"
..How can you prevent it,"
.Ican keep in my own room." she
said quickly. HE is recovering. Do
not let him see you-pray do not let
him see you''
Plovitz showed unmistakable signs Of
coming to life again; and Mary drew
me, with force which was chiefly de-
rived from her pctitioning tones, to-
wards the door.
do not stay" she whispered earnest
".
turned towards the secret entrance.
This is the way" she said. in
dicating the other direction. Lhe did
not know OF the staircase machinery then.
As recognized the advantage Of learn
ing all could about the geography Of
the house. followed her directions
without trying to enlighten her. At
the end Of dark and narrow passage
we came to door which opened upon
sort of back landing.
where does this lead top
THE way you came up" she whis-
pcred In tone Of surprise.
There was no time for explanation,
and could at least find my way into
the hall; but as l got halfway down
the stairs. heard the voice of Hardy in
conversation with q woman. Mary
Fortcscue, who was watching anxiously
from the top, hurriedly stopped me.
..Stay! There is Hardy! Come backr'
Certainly l could not get BY without
being discovered. and to remain longer
where was was highly dangerous. Mr..
and Miss Beaufoy might be even now
returned. Plowitz would be seeking
some explanation of the blow that had
struck him SO suddenly. / must return
the other way Ut once. returned to
the top of the stairs. | took Mary's
hand.
..Come," I said: Il will show you
how came in
stepped noiselessly past the door OF
the room where l had interrupted the
interview. Mary had closed it behind
us. / paused second, and heard
Plowitz's voice. Was he moaning in
stupefied pain? No; he was swearing
deeply in German. and-yes-I certain
~ heard him chuckling.
Mary ran back to the end of the
passage. to secure her retreat to her
room. where she could protect herself
from intrusion. l waved my hand to
her, aud then felt in the dim light for
the apparatus. which | was convinced
must be somewhere on or in the wall.
l had assumed that the means of exit
would be obvious. l was proportion
ately Mortified to find that no trace of
the desired machinery was to be found.
l scrabbled ut the woodwork, and
pressed vainly at the door. No sign
Of the apparatus-no symptom Of yield
ing was to be found. heard the step
Of Plowitz in the room HARDLY. 1t
was all very well to think that was
more than match for the puffy and
bewildered German. But it was not for
myself that was anxious. There was
one, whom could see family at the end
Of the passage, who was \ thousand
times dearer to me than life itself, for
whose safety felt myself responsible.
All sorts Of dangers-unknown dangers
I knew to threaten her. Ny own cs.
cape l did not see how to compass. II
she fled with me. what had l to offer
her? II her guardians claimed her
what had IL who kept my footing in
the house under false pretcnces-to
oppose to their legal claine In des
peration / pressed the panclling. ! tried
the door. Suddenly l heard
. door open, apparently al
the foot Of the other staircase. The
voice Of Hardy sounded distinctly
through the silence; heavy foot was
heard upon the stairs. / saw Mary
Fortescue making gestures of desperate
urgency. felt all round the frame Of
the door with fcvcrish eagcrness. NJ
sign of yielding! No trace Of the bidder
mechanism!
She saw my plight, evidently.
heard her call to Hardy:
lis that you. Hardy?'
..Yes. miss"
.s'rell Mrs. Hardy l want to speak tt
her."
.All right, miss, when I've brought
these Goals up"
..No-now. Hardy"
..Thcsc Goals is heavy" said Hardy
his voice getting nearer. and his step
sounding closer Oh the stairs.
There was an energy in her voice
and determination to cover my re
treat in her attitude, which strength
ened my belief that my best course. il
the interest Of both, was to make goot
my retreat. and formulate some differ
ent plan of action-of escape.
The handle Of the door l had tried il
vain. It turned little either way, bu
produced no result. As Hardy's step
sounded close to the top of the stairs, y
Plowitz apparently prepared to com
out and look about him, as Mary shool
her hand at me with q gesture Of de
spairing haste, l leant all my weigh
upon the door, upon the handle whicl
was such a mockery to my hopes. ]
yielded to my weight. 1t gave wa
with gentle click, and. before / coul
realize my good fortune, the doc
swung open, and / stepped cut into tn
light Of the hall lamps. and the wal
closed behind me: and descended th
staircase Just as the hall door opened
and the Basilisk entered, followed b
her father. With the flush of the fres
autumn-air tnging the splendid pablo
Of her cheeks.
"Ah, Mr.. Coplestone!'' she cried
..here wo are! Not very long after you